Like Rocky, Nia is declawed. The bounty for adult wolves and cougars was raised on March 16, 1819 to $12. Florida is the only state on the east coast with a breeding population of mountain lions. On the other hand, there are probably thousands of game cameras covering water holes and game trails throughout Pennsylvania, and to my knowledge no one has yet recorded a puma. Mountain Lions - Rocky Mountain National Park (U.S. National Park Service) Let me know if you have seen one! Unless I am only dealing with a lot of delusional people with little judgment, something is out there. Is there a Mountain Lion Conspiracy? I've looked in the PGC game laws booklet and saw nothing on this, which I guess you could conclude means a puma would not be legal to shoot. In the wild, adult mountain lions can weigh anywhere from 65 to 220 pounds. They are there to help us. Editor's note: The Pocono Record and Tri-County Independent have collaborated for a series of stories called Mountain Beasts: Pocono cryptids, legends and lore. If we say it ain't so, it ain't so! "They are very strong animals," she said. Joseph Pugliese 2.2K views 7 years ago Beautiful Bobcat in our yard as our. So, couldn't that same argument apply to pumas in the Northeast? For information on predator tracks, check out this guide: https://www.wildliferemoval.com/animal-track-identification-guide/, Please keep scrolling - ALL the Puma posts are included. Viewers can never be certain that what they're seeing on a computer is actually what it's purported to be. Many of those claiming to have encountered a cougar in Pennsylvania take that non-confirmation by the commission as an attack on their veracity and character. A neighbor scared the animal away before it could finish its meal; the sheeps carcass was used as bait, to catch the big cat. All of the above images are of bobcats. "I know they're native to this area. (What is meant by "heads" is not clear.). "We should be getting more pictures. "The cougars examined in the Northeast in the past 70 years are likely released or escaped captives. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. As they get older, the cubs begin to leave the den and explore. I don't want to seem like a nut case here, but I must ask this question and you'll soon understand why? So how or why could there be a conspiracy? Mountain lions have killed humans in the wild, though sightings and encounters are rare even in the American West and Canada. On the second night, a mountain lion passed by, apparently drawn by the smell but put off by the stench, as the cat did not visit the kill. Pa Mountain lion, cougar, or big cat in bucks county Pennsylvania Have all of those who have seen a puma really seen a bobcat? Erosion from glacial melt and violence glaciers did to the land left a. Compare any game camera image with the shots above, or this game camera image, to confirm your identification. "People think they can get them declawed and that they're safe, but they still have teeth.". What does a Puma (Mountain Lion) look like on a Game Camera? Oregon has a large, stable breeding population of mountain lions. Perhaps one or more of these Pocono sightings represent early pioneers reclaiming their former territories. Looking for things to do in the Poconos? Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site. The coat can be spotted or solid and varies in color from light browns, reddish and silvery grey. The northeastern U.S. population is thought to have disappeared in the 1930s. These color morphs are most common in rain forests and jungles. I love the big cats and devote a huge amount of my field time photographing African lions, leopards, cheetahs, and in 2011, tigers. the more visible white on the chest, the lack of spots, the huge hind quarters. They know what they saw, regardless of what the facts say, and they know they saw a puma. If pumas do exist in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast, could they all be released cats or escapees? In the forests of Kenya, however, they do occur. Recently, a man I spoke with told me that he was reminded of a sighting he and two friends had 20 years earlier, and after recalling the incident he was motivated to call his college buddies and reflect on their observation. The first is the mating season which can occur during the late to early spring months. Where reports dating that far back from escapees? There is also a small population of cougars in Florida. The last of three glaciations covered 30% of Pennsylvania, including much of the Poconos, from around 20,000-10,000 B.C. After all, skeptics often suggest that puma sightings are just deer sightings, so it would be logical to worry that a hunter might shoot an endangered puma, mistaking it for a brown deer. I was heading up the road and I saw an animal with a long tail.". Noted Wayne County historian Phineas Goodrich recorded in his 1880 book on local history that the common gray wolf was much more common in this area than the cougar. Currently, mountain lions seem to be making a comeback in regard to their historic range. All rights reserved. Note the long, usually thick tail. "It's one of those things where I'll believe it when I see it," said Jason Farmer of Pocono Summit, my hunting partner for the last eight years. Did they migrate south from Canada? Where they always here as a relic population? Although there was no evidence that the 2011 mountain lion ever set foot in Pennsylvania, DNA evidence confirmed that it had been both west and east of the state. For example, leopards and jaguars, normally spotted cats, have a melanistic color morph, the 'black panther,' the black leopard or black jaguar. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? The Asa Packer Mansion, built in the year 1861, is a historic house museum. "It's fall bow-hunting season soon," he said. What does a Mountain Lion look like on a game camera? Although in captivity, they can live much longer. I usually follow-up on these reports and, via email or phone conversations, I receive more details. Suppose, instead of declaring the puma, or Eastern mountain lion, extinct, the USFWS actually recognized the existence of the cat as a wild, breeding species. In books I've read critical or skeptical or down-right dismissive of the idea of pumas in the East, the argument has been advanced that the hopefull puma-dreamer/spotters arguing that the State needs to prove pumas don't exist does not mean that in the State not proving this means that pumas indeed do exist in this state. Big cats in Pennsylvania: mountain lions or bobcats? - Pocono Record By the mid-1900s pumas were eliminated from almost all of the eastern states, and by mid-century were officially extinct east of the Mississippi, except for a remnant population in southern Florida. Controlled hunting of mountain lions is allowed within the state. Here are the 15 US States That Have Mountain Lions - AZ Animals Reports of a mountain lion have come from several residents of Hemlock Farms who were hiking on. My friend was a former hunter and fisherman, and spent a lot of time in the woods, as did I, but neither of us had ever seen a coyote. Periodically, via Google searches, I receive reports from people who believe they had seen a mountain lion in Pennsylvania, or in other mid-Atlantic states. The hunting policy of the state may be the cause of the dropping population, and pressure on the Fish and Game Commission has increased. I wanted to know if they're here, so I called some people I trust and asked them one simple question: Are there mountain lions in Pennsylvania? Let's say the facts indicate that there have been a lot of 'pet' pumas, and many of these escaped. The head of the puma is small in comparision to a house cat when compared to the entire body. He's sitting in a plastic doghouse, paws crossed, amber eyes locked on the two men ticking him off by their mere presence out beyond the fence. As you can see from the above images it is very difficult to confuse the two if you have a good view. Conversely, an outdoor writer I know told me that when Pa. enacted a menagerie permit law years ago, 'a lot of mountain lions suddenly died,' as the owners of these cats, rather than going through the paperwork, simply released their pumas and claimed that they had died. What you wouldn't expect to find here anymore is a mountain lion. I don't know if a Game Commission authority has actually said this or not, but people I've spoken to have reported this. I'll be anxious to learn of your report. Mysterious big cat caught on security camera in Clarks Summit, Pa. Murray has cared for four mountain lions since she took over the rescue in 1998. Mountain Lion Population (In Each U.S. State) - Wildlife Informer In Pennsylvania, I receive a few reports of black, big cats, which makes one wonder -- are there melanistic (black) pumas out there, or are those sightings always wrong. I'd suspect it would still be considered very rare, after all, it was thought to be extinct. One might argue that the eastern puma is extinct, but that does not mean that there are not pumas (mountain lions, cougars) in the east. Hunting is legal, but the use of dogs was banned in 1996. For example, one man I interviewed said he saw a 'black' puma, and this should disqualify his sighting as a black puma has never been recorded. The 6 best hikes in the Poconos Mountains - Lonely Planet I've seen hoaxes, of pumas carrying deer shot with game cameras, but these were of western cats. No evidence has ever been produced to support those charges. That's true. Colby is a freelance writer from Charlotte, North Carolina. He's a hunter, a woodsman, and he's seen a lot of game, so I can believe he saw a back-lighted puma. Every year we receive a few similar reports from hikers, hunters or other outdoor enthusiasts. This is actually a good thing, as genetic isolation generally weakens a species. Here, they've not been," Lau said in an e-mail. I receive about one email or phone call a month, on average, from people that I do not know who are contacting me because their sighting compelled them to do a Google search on puma sightings, and they found my site and previously posted questions. Images from a homeowner's surveillance camera show a tan cat with a long body, beyond a chain-link fence. The woman, a 66-year-old grandmother, asked not to be identified because she's a senior and didn't want people "bothering" her about it. Features Writer Micaela Hood is signing off with the Pocono Record after five years of covering arts, culture, entertainment and sports in northeastern . One of the important things for any animal is a place to call home. That's significant because, in states where mountain lions live, they're often struck by vehicles or otherwise found dead. One sighting I give complete belief in was from a friend who told me a puma crossed right in front of their vehicle, and paused on the berm for a few seconds, at a distant of ten yards or less. I've done this myself once, in Tanzania, when I saw a black house cat that I thought was a black leopard! I had three cameras positioned, so had a cat visited, I'd have had it. He saw a big cat. They once inhabited the entire United States, but were killed off and pushed west. In Yellowstone, definite puma country (perhaps not ideal habitat, but pumas are found in every section of Yellowstone), I've spoken to guys on road crews and with rangers, each with 20 years of field or road experience in Yellowstone, and the ranger had only seen 2 (both road kills and together) and the road crew guys two or three in all their years. Mt Lions in WV, NY, and PA - Hoot Hollow I can't dismiss the eye-witnesses I've interviewed. Something to consider, even though we all trust the government. Is there a correct position for the upright on a Wimberley actionhead? Transient males have been sighted as far east as New York! Possibly, but it seems unlikely that enough would have been released or had escaped to make for a viable population. If youve done any research on your own, you may have noticed that we didnt include a lot of states that have had cougar sightings, especially in the last few years. WATCH: Sharks biting alligators, the most epic lion battles, and MUCH more. That summer, a team from the State Museum of Pennsylvania in Harrisburg excavated the nearly complete skeleton of the ancient elephant, the first of its kind found in the Commonwealth. YouTubes privacy policy is available here and YouTubes terms of service is available here. I'm wondering, then, if the complete dismissal of sightings of Eastern pumas (other than the acknowledgement of released or escaped pets) isn't motivated by economics. Over the last few years I've done several Questions of the Month regarding Mountain Lions, or Pumas as they should properly be called, in the Mid-Atlantic States and in Pennsylvania. But an image captured by one family's. 2023 www.poconorecord.com. About half of the state of Montana is ideal for mountain lions, primarily in her western and central regions. Mountain lions (cougars, pumas, and more) are among the top predators that live in the United States. The Pocono Mountains are . No An official form of the United States government. The same goes for New York and several other eastern states. Are mountain lions on their way to Pennsylvania? Others would like to see some scientific proof. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. It seems unlikely, considering captives have never shown this trait, but people are reporting big black cats. I have received about two dozen reports during that time, including one game camera image that still looks very credible to me. Just take your pick of all these incredible Pocono lake house rentals or just a Pocono cabin for rent, in luxury of course! One of the three branches or clans of the Lenape Tribe at the end of the 17th century was known as the Wolf (Minsi). Apparently, this picture was really making the rounds. Continuing with that thought, if that were so, then it'd be possible, if not very likely, that the Eastern puma would be an Endangered Species. Like Arizona, New Mexico is the perfect home for mountain lions. Furthermore, a different set of photos showed a "mountain lion" dragging a deer into the woods in Bradford County. Mountain Lion Reports (National Park Service). Remember, this one was photographed in Arizona in good puma country, although this was the first one I've recorded there. Reports generally go uninvestigated by the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which discounts them as mistaken identities, illegal pets escaped or released and outright fabrications. A Mountain Lion Cover Up Still, people say they know what they saw out there. On that, I've had emails sent with game trail photo attachments, or killed pumas, supposedly shot in Pennsylvania, but these were hoaxes. These creatures lurking in Pa.'s woods can hurt or kill you "Hunters are always saying they see mountain lions, and the Game Commission always says there aren't any," said Robert Hale, owner of Buffalo Gap Outfitters in Dillsburg. Foster said mountain lions and bobcats could not breed. Eyes are normal and are not light sensitive, and the over-all color, generally black, is usually not detrimental and may actually be of benefit. Then there is Rocky. ? All rights reserved. The rounded ears, A second image of the same cat, in a different light, reveals the trademark spots of a bobcat. I believe Kross fully, but I wanted to hear more. Certainly it is a romantic notion, but I've always held out the hope that pumas still roamed the east. At the end of the last Ice Age, many animals in Pennsylvania died out. They are generally believed to be young cats roaming in search of new breeding territories to claim as their own. Had this been faked, I'd suspect the hoaxter would try for a more authentic background. It's 90-something degrees, but Rocky's stare feels like ice down your pants. Now, if there were any escapes, and if any of these bred with a possible minuscule number of eastern pumas, a relic native population, wouldn't the gene pool be corrupted? The State cites that there are no road-kills, and in a heavily trafficed state like Pennsylvania there should be kills. With that hope in mind, I have, for years, asked outdoors people if they ever heard of a mountain lion, or puma, in their area -- with my questioning limited to people in my home state of Pennsylvania. And yes, there are people in Pennsylvania who say they exist here. Biologists who investigate these reports claim that several may, indeed, be mountain lions, but most likely they're animals that have escaped from captivity or have been released by their. However, if you've seen a mountain lion, or other mystery creature, or evidence of either, in Pennsylvania, contact outdoor writer Marcus Schneck at mschneck@pennlive.com.). years are available through this link. Are the various States guilty of essentially the same thing? Each year, over tha past five, I've spoken with at least one person who swears they personally saw a puma in this state. Good luck, and let me know! The mountain lion, which is also called a cougar, puma or panther, weighs on average between 75-120 pounds, has long whiskers and a distinctive swooping tail.
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